


Crashed

by Onehelluvapilot



Series: Febuwhump [25]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Car Accidents, Gen, Hospitals, Hurt Lancelot (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:46:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29157591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: Lancelot, an off duty firefighter and rescue worker, is involved in a car accident.
Relationships: Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin), Lancelot & Merlin (Merlin)
Series: Febuwhump [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2134998
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Crashed

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by LiGi

Lancelot hadn’t hit his head. He could be thankful for that, at least, even as every other part of his body that he  _ had _ hit made itself known. Head injuries were the most common cause of death in car and most other accidents, and even if they weren’t fatal, had the most severe impacts and longest recovery times.  _ You didn’t hit your head _ , he reassured himself as he tried to suppress the pain that flared up through his body.  _ You’re conscious and coherent, and now you need to take full stock of the situation. _

He remembered the truck that had been driving on his left side suddenly swerving into his lane . There wasn't time for him to react, and his little station wagon had been hit  _ hard _ on its front left corner. The driver-side door was smashed in to the point where he knew from experience that it would take a fire crew with a buzz saw to open it. Even if he weren't injured, he wouldn't be just walking away from this. And he was far from uninjured.

His airbag had gone off, but he'd been thrown to the side more than forward, so it hadn't saved him from what felt like fairly severe whiplash. Although sitting up straight hurt like hell as his neck and back screamed at him, he knew moving was the worst thing he could do right now, so he held still. His left arm was definitely broken, along with what felt like all his ribs. Breathing through the pain was difficult, and though he knew he needed oxygen, it was hard to inhale deeply. As for his right and lower halves, the sharp stabbing in his hip was unexpected and unpleasant. He had heard that the seatbelt could actually bruise or even break the pelvis, but he had never personally seen it. Add it to his life list.

While his injuries were painful, Lancelot could look at them logically and say that none of them were life-threatening. As long as there was nothing internal and he didn’t go into shock, that was, but there was nothing he could do about that here. There was nothing he could do about any of it, and damn if that wasn’t ironic. He spent a good deal of his life attending to those injured in car accidents, and now that he was involved in one, he couldn’t help himself. 

_ You’re not going to die, but what about the other driver? _ he asked himself. Looking out through his broken windshield, he took stock of what he could see of the other vehicle. It was a large pickup truck, which gave the driver a huge advantage, especially when compared to his crappy little old station wagon. Frankly, Lancelot was lucky he hadn’t been killed on impact. Though, when the pain seethed again, he wished for just a microsecond that he had been.  _ Stop that _ , he scolded himself. That kind of pessimism wasn’t going to get him anywhere. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the other driver stumble down from his car, though the paramedic in him knew he should have stayed inside unless there was something dangerous in the car itself. It was just a kid, a teenager. Not surprising. At least he didn’t seem badly injured, though the way he was looking around in apparent confusion and disorientation indicated a possible head injury.

Both of their vehicles had stopped in the middle of the three lane highway, effectively blocking traffic. He watched as a few cars in front of him stopped, clearly wanting to help, while others shot by on the shoulder before they were trapped behind the accident. Unable to turn his head, Lancelot didn't see the woman approaching from behind until she appeared right by his broken window.

"My god, are you alright?" she asked. Not the most sophisticated question, he thought, before reminding himself that most people weren't trained to respond to accidents or deal with trauma victims.

"Not really," he admitted, voice tight. "911?"

"My husband's calling them," she assured him. "You just sit still, there'll be an ambulance here soon." Actually, he suspected that emergency dispatch would send a fire crew with EMS capabilities instead of a standard ambulance, but he didn't have the energy to correct her.

"The other driver, he should sit down," Lancelot managed to croak out.

"I'll go check on him. Are you okay here?"

"Yeah," he said, though he expected it might be a lie. He watched through the broken windshield as the woman brought the disoriented teenager over to the side of the road. After that, he closed his eyes and focused on trying to breathe deeply and steadily. He only opened them again when he heard sirens.

As Lancelot had expected, a fire truck pulled up from the shoulder of the highway. If not for his broken ribs, he would've laughed when he recognized the ID number on the side. It was his engine. He watched as Arthur got out first and began coordinating response efforts. He couldn't hear the instructions, but knew his team members’ likely roles based on where they each went and with what equipment. Leon and Percival went to secure the scene with road flares and flags to direct traffic. Arthur and Elyan went to the other damaged vehicle, assessing hazards such as fuel leaks as well as the state of the driver, while Gwaine and Merlin came over to his vehicle. They seemed a lot less happy to see him than he was to see them.

"Lancelot," Gwaine just breathed, for once in his life at a loss for words. Merlin, at least, was less stunned at finding his coworker involved in an accident, and got to work.

"Gwaine, continue the hazard check, and if there's nothing serious, go get me a trauma bag from the truck," the EMT ordered as he bent down to look in Lance's broken window. "Where does it hurt?" he asked succinctly.

"You want the full list?" Lance laughed softly. The relief at having his friends here was enough to dull his pain.

"Give me the highlights."

"Neck and back hurt a lot," he said. "I can't really move."

"Lance, can you feel your legs?" Merlin demanded gently. The look of concern on his face made Lancelot realize how worrying his words were, as they implied spinal cord damage and possible paralysis.

"Yes. Sorry. I just meant that I think I have whiplash, and my left leg is trapped. Right hip is hurt too."

"What else? Did you hit your head at all?"

"No. Ribs hurt; breathing isn't too easy." He had to pause then to catch his breath. "Left arm is broken. I think that's it."

"Alright," Merlin said, turning aside to take his trauma bag from Gwaine when the firefighter brought it back. "So, what I think we're gonna do is I'm gonna crawl in the passenger side and get you stable while Gwaine and Arthur cut the door open on your side. That sound alright?"

"Yeah," Lance agreed. Merlin immediately made good on his word, going around quickly to the other side of the car. He popped open the passenger side door and slid into the seat. 

"Stay still," his friend instructed him, resting a hand briefly on his shoulder. The little bit of human contact was enough to trigger the belated fear and relief bubbling up inside him, but he couldn't move to wipe away the tears that began blossoming up. Merlin noticed, because of course he did. "Hey, you're gonna be fine," he soothed, returning his hand and squeezing briefly. "We've got you." Lancelot almost nodded but caught himself at the last minute. "Here, hold this," Merlin switched back to professional as he brought a face mask to Lance's head. "You'll be able to breathe easier, put less strain on your ribs."

Along with the oxygen mask, Merlin attached a neck and back brace to Lancelot. He left the seatbelt on, since although it was pressing on his damaged ribs, it helped keep the victim still. After he was as stabilized as possible given the situation, Merlin stayed sitting in the car next to his friend as outside, Arthur and Gwaine worked to get him out. It only took a minute to get the door off with the Jaws of LIfe, and then another few minutes to pry the collapsed side and dash of the car off of Lancelot’s legs. The sound of the hydraulic spreader had never bothered him before when he was the one working on it, but now the noise hurt his ears and made him wince. As his friends finally lifted him out of his totaled car and onto a stretcher, he bit his lip harshly to keep from crying out in pain.

"I'll call Gwen," Arthur reassured him as he and Merlin rolled him over to the ambulance that had arrived.

"Thank you," Lancelot croaked out as he was loaded in and taken away.

* * *

"Gwen, you're wanted downstairs in Emergency," Audrey, her nursing supervisor, called from where she stood by the phone. Gwen had her bags with her and was on her way towards the elevator already, but she had clocked out and was on her way  _ home _ , not to the Emergency department. Tonight was date night, and Lancelot had told her he was making lamb.

"My shift's over," she protested. "Why do they want  _ me _ ?"

"Your husband is downstairs," the woman told her, and the look on her face told Gwen that she didn't mean he was just stopping in to say hello. She didn't say anything, just dashed to the elevator. The four-floor trip felt like the longest ride of her life, and she could swear that she'd never before been so scared. 

Downstairs, Dr. Gaius spotted her and led her to the right room. Inside, Lancelot lay on a hospital bed. He looked terrible, hair mussed, shirt cut open to reveal awful purple bruising across his chest, and a neck brace holding his head in place. Despite all that, a smile welled up on his face at the sight of her. She rushed to his side, taking his hand gently in hers.

"I'm okay," he assured her, though his voice was tight with pain. "They're gonna take me in for a couple of x-rays in a minute."

"What happened?" she asked, struggling to hold back tears at seeing her husband laid out like this.

"Car accident. Some kid swerved into me on the highway. Our car is totalled, by the way."

"I don't care," Gwen replied. "As long as you're not." She leaned forward and pressed a kiss gently to his lips.

"No, I'm not totalled," he agreed, smiling against her lips. "And anyway, I've got my own, beautiful nurse to help me back to health."

* * *

In the end, Lancelot had more than just Gwen to help him. Merlin gave the Du Lacs a ride home from the hospital when Lance was released, and that night he cooked them dinner and slept on their couch. When he and Gwen had to go to work in the morning, Elyan took their place. Though it turned out Lancelot didn't have any spinal damage nor had he broken his pelvis, just strained muscles and a badly bruised hip, walking was hard, and having a little help, be it an arm to hold onto or a steadying hand on his lower back, made all the difference. 

After Lancelot's brother-in-law left, his boss Arthur showed up. Then Leon reported for duty, then Percival, then Gwaine. A rotation fell into place so that for the next two weeks, Lance was never alone in the house. Gwen never even had to take time off work, which was good, as they were down to one paycheck until her husband could get back to work. His friends left him alone sometimes once he was recovered enough to look after himself, but made sure that he had all the support he needed for the full duration of his recovery.

_ It's nice,  _ he thought idly as he sat with Merlin, Elyan, and Gwen on the couch one night watching a movie, _ to have friends that could not only save your life, but who would also help maintain it. _

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos/comments are always appreciated!


End file.
